Silent : Unveiling the Turmoil of a Teenage Heart

CHAPTER 22

NOAH

I watch as Sam walks towards my car. He moves slowly. His hair covers his dark, sad eyes. The small suitcase he holds barely closed because of how full of stuff it is. I get out of the car and wait for him. "Hey, man." I say as I walk towards him. "Hi." His voice cracks. I pull him into a hug. He drops the suitcase. Sam's arms wrap around my torso and I pat his back. "Thank you for letting me stay." He whispers. "Of course, Sam. Always."

We let go of each other. "I'll put your suitcase in the back. You get in the car." I tell him as I pick up the navy blue suitcase. Sam nods and walks towards the passenger side door. I take the suitcase with me and open the trunk. The small suitcase was heavier than I expected. After I put in the suitcase, I closed the trunk. I get back to the front of the car. I open the door and get in the drivers seat.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask. "Sure. But not here." We were still standing in front of Sam's 'old' house. I nod and start the car. I decide to drive somewhere else. I don't drive to my house, but I decide to take Sam to the forest. We used to hang out in the forest when we were thirteen. Not only Sam and I, but also Soori and Lily. I stop the car right in front of the 'entrance.' There was no actual entrance, but we always went in this way. Sam and I both get out of the car. "It's been so long." Sam whispered. "I know. I figured you wanted to be in a 'safe' place. You always loved hanging out here." I follow Sam as he enters the forest. "I remember texting the group chat everyday to ask if we could hang out." He slowly walks as he looks at his surroundings.

We reach the exact spot where we always sat. It was close to a small lake. We always sat on a fallen tree trunk. The moonlight shone through the trees. It was a little scary, but so fun when you're with a group of friends.

Sam and I both sit down on the tree trunk. I take a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the pocket of my jacket. I don't smoke often. Only when I'm stressed or in moments like these. Moments when I'm supposed to be calm and listen to someone. It helps, somehow. I hold the cigarette with my mouth and light it. "Do you want one?" I ask Sam. "No, thanks." He replies. I take a drag on my cigarette and
blow the smoke out. "Tell me what happened." I say as I bring the cigarette closer to my mouth.

"It's mostly my dad." Sam starts. I turn to him. I always thought Mr. Liu was a very nice man. It was usually Mrs. Liu I found more intimidating whenever I came over.

I listen to Sam as he explains everything. The first argument, the call with his brother, tonight's argument and him packing everything. "They don't ever show interest in me. I've thought about purposely breaking a bone just so they would pay attention to me. That sounds so weird, but I'd do anything for their attention." Sam explains. I stay quiet for a second. "I'm sorry, this is stupid. I shouldn't have called you-" I cut him off. "It's not stupid. I understand." I throw the cigarette on the ground and stomp on it to put it out. "You do?" Sam turns to me. He has a curious look on his face.

"I do. But I don't want to make this about me, I'm supposed to comfort you." "No, tell me." I look at Sam, only to see him waiting for me to say something. I sigh. "When my parents divorced, my mother was devastated." I start. "She rotted in bed the entire day, would get mad over the smallest things, she'd slam doors and throw things. It was scary, since I was little. Sometimes she'd even forget I was there. She'd be in bed all day and forget to make me food. Or she'd go to the job and leave me home alone with the doors unlocked. I also craved attention, Sam. I feel you." I explained.

My mom and I have a good relationship now, but the first few months after the divorce were horrible. I just feel so bad for her, because she never meant to hurt me. She was hurt herself, but she never knew it also affected me.

"It feels nice knowing someone feels or felt the same way I feel right now. I'm sorry you had to go through that, Noah. Your case is way worse than mine." Sam runs his fingers through his hair. "No, it isn't. Yours is just as bad. It was different for me, because I was very young. You're seventeen, Sam. You know exactly what's going on. That makes it more painful. I didn't know what was happening when my parents were so angry all the time. I never knew why, because I was too young to understand." I explain.

Sam and I talk about our childhood's for the longest time. "Okay, enough sad things. I need something fun." Sam stops the conversation. "What do you want to do then?" I ask. "Let's invite the girls. Hang out at the original spot, like old times." Sam suggests. "Sure, I'll call the group chat." I take my phone out of my pocket and unlock it. I click on our group chat and call. Sam's phone also starts ringing, but he declines the call.

Lily and Soori both pick up. "Hey." I say. "Hi. What's up?" Lily asks. "Are you guys coming to the forest? Hang out like old times?" I ask. "Sure. But where's Sam? He's not picking up." I can hear Soori aggressively tapping on her phone. "I'm already here." Sam leans closer to my phone so that the girls can hear him. "Oh, hey Sam." Lily says. "Okay, I'm on my way." Soori says. "Me too. We'll be right there." Lily adds. We say our goodbyes and hang up the phone. Sam and I talk as we wait for the girls.

After about thirty minutes, we hear footsteps and rustling leaves. Suddenly, two people appear. Two girls. One with long black hair, about five foot five. Pale skin, dark eyes, blue jeans and a black bomber jacket. Next to her, a slightly shorter girl with wavy, pink hair. She's wearing black jeans and a matching jean jacket. Soori Bloodeye and Lily Miller.

Soori smiles at us, Lily waves. Sam and I both wave back. They both start walking a little faster and Soori opens her arms for a hug. I stand up and walk into her embrace. I hold her waist as she wraps her arms around the back of my neck. Sam stands up and hugs Lily. "Hey." Soori says as she looks up at me. "Hi." I say back, smiling down at her. She lets go of me and walks over to Sam, who had just let go of Lily. Soori also hugs him and I hug Lily. People always say it's weird that we great each other with hugs, because it seems so 'romantic.' I don't see it that way. Me personally, I wouldn't greet my best friend of 7 years with a high-five.

We all sit back down on the tree trunk. "Why were you guys here? We haven't hung out here in so long." Lily wraps her arms around herself. "I had an argument with my parents, so I asked Noah if I could stay with him. Then he took me here." Sam explains. "Oh, I'm sorry." Lily apologizes. "Don't worry about it."

We sat there for the longest time. We didn't even realize how late it got. It's already 11:34 PM. Soori has missed calls from her brothers, Lily's grandmother has texted her multiple times and I have three voicemails from my mother. "Oh, shit. We really need to get home." Soori stands up from the tree trunk. "How did you guys get here? Did you two take the bike?" I ask as I also stand up. "No, we walked." Lily replies. "Oh, in that case, we'll drive you guys home." I insist. "Are you sure?" Soori asks as she zips up her jacket. I nod. The four of us walk to my car.

Soori and I sit in the front, Lily and Sam in the back. I drive Lily home first, because she lives the closest. I look to my right, just to see Soori with closed eyes. "Are you sleeping?" I ask. No response. "I think she is." Lily guesses.

After ten minutes of driving, we arrive at Lily's house. "Thank you for taking me, Noah." She says. "Of course." Lily reaches to the front to give me a handshake. She hugs Sam before she gets out of the car. I wait until she gets inside. When the front door closes behind her, I drive away.

Soori doesn't live that far away from Lily. It's about five minutes. I stop the car right in front of her house. She's still asleep. I tap her arm, no response. I tap once more, still nothing. Then I rub her thigh, which does wake her up. Her eyes flutter open and she looks around her first. "We're at your house, Ri." I softly say. "Oh, already?" She asks with a sleepy voice. "Yes, you fell asleep." I say. Soori leans in for a hug. I wrap my arms around her and rub her back. She pulls away and turns around to face Sam. She leans over to hug Sam. Soori unbuckles her seat belt and gets out of the car. She walks to her front door. Before she goes inside, she waves. Both Sam and I wave back. Soori gets inside and closes her door. I slowly drive away.

"You sure you don't want to get in front?" I ask. "No, it's okay. It's not that long of a drive." Sam answers. I speed up and quickly drive home. I feel bad for Sam. He's gonna stay with me for a long time. I know that, because Sam's parents are definitely not going to be the first to apologize.